BinaryDay

The high price of iPhone is proving to be a deterrent in Indian market. Sales of the iPhone in Airtel and Vodafone stores have been far below the expectation of both the companies. According to industry estimates, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have not been able to sell more than 1,500 phones during the first week of launching the product.

To attract more customers Airtel and Vodafone are now offering the iPhone on EMIs through their tie-ups with various banks. Under the schemes by various banks, emis of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months are available (different for different banks). If you go by the 12 month emi option by ICICI bank, you will have to pay the emi of Rs. 2583 and one time processing fees of 12.65%.

You can check the details here: Airtel  and  Vodafone.

The question now is that will this emi scheme lure in buyers. I believe that it will lure in more buyers than earlier but still not what was expected. This is because we Indians are smart buyers. We will not buy an overpriced product even if its available on easy emis. We all know how quickly mobile prices fall. Atleast I will wait for the time till the prices drop by about 10K. Also the unlocked 3G iPhones should be available in the grey market for about 20K pretty soon. No idea on how Airtel and Vodafone will counter these.

We have seen 2 exciting launches in India last week. Apple iPhone and Nokia N96. While Apple iPhone is priced at Rs. 31,000 for 8GB version and Rs. 36,000 for 16GB version, N96 is priced at Rs. 36,000. So for now price wise both are evenly matched. Now the big question, if I have to put up my 36K, which one will it be.

I have used the iPhone for few months (non 3G version) earlier so I have experienced its revolutionaly user interface and I can talk about its ownership experience. I have not got a chance to explore N96 so far. So I can only compare it with iPhone based on it features and not on its ownership experience.

WOW Factor:
iPhone, iPhone and iPhone. N96 simply doesn’t stand a chance here. I remember the day when I just took my iPhone out in Kamat restaurant, here in Hyderabad, to attend a call and then just put it on my table. Every single passer by including the waiter, asked me what phone it was, and how much it costed. Simply amazing. Even more amazing was their reaction when I told them that it costed me just Rs. 18,ooo (that’s $399).
N96 I am sure, anyone would ever notice it. It just looks a slightly polished version of N95.

User Interface:
Again iPhone with its revolutionary multi-touch technology is far ahead of Nokia N96. I have used N95 and I believe, N96 user interface should be more or less the same. While its definitely good but it not comparable to iPhone, which is in a different league altogether. When your start using iPhone, this multitouch will really excite your, but over the time, it simply doesn’t matter. For me after a couple of months of use, I really found my blackberry better to use. It was faster and easier. But this is valid if you are using a lot of email on phone.

Storage:
N96 is clear winner here. Apart from 16GB memory it also supports micro SD card. This definitely gives it an edge over iPhone. We can use this microSD card easily copy data from N96 to other phones or PC, just like a pen drive, which is very convenient.

Camera:
N96 is a clear winner here. 5 mega pixel. iPhone has just 2. N96 as has a LED flash. With 5 mega pixel, it literally eliminates the need to carry a digital camera. More over copying photos to PC, its not dependent on iTunes. Just copy the photos to you PC and you are done. This comes in handy if you have to copy your photos to say your friend’s machine which does not have itunes.

Size/Weight:
While N96 is lighter than iPhone by 8 gms, it looks bulkier. iPhone is thinner compared to N96. So I believe iPhone is a winner here.

Multimedia/Media playback:
N96 is a clear winner here. It can play MP3s, AACs WMAs. Just drag and drop MP3s from your system and your are ready to listen. For iPhone everything goes via iTunes which can be frustrating many times especially for Linux users like me. For video also, N96 can play more formats than iPhone including MPEG-4 and Flash. Flash is a big limitation in iPhone. Sound and picture quality should be comparable in both the devices, though with larger screen, iPhone scores over N96, while watching videos.

Connectivity/Network:
iPhone comes locked with provider, which I hate. Other than that both are 3G phones and have wi fi and are equally matched. N96 supports Stereo Bluetooth with A2DP, iPhone doesn’t. Both have Assisted GPS, but N96 comes with bundled maps and 3 months subscription (in India), which gives it an edge over iPhone.

Battery:
iPhone is a winner here. For Audio playback, its 14 hours (N96) vs. 24 (iPhone) and for video its 5 hours (N96) vs. 7. Standby time is 220 hours (N96) vs. 300 for the iPhone. Though we cannot change the battery of iPhone ourselves, but that’s hardly an issue. iPhone hugely scores over N96 in battery life. But then again you will definitely find many people with Nokia chargers around (at least in India) when you need one .

WebApps:
The iPhone has the App Store for third-party applications, while the N96 has the huge collection of apps made for the Symbian S60. Right now N96 wins here, but we are seeing some really cool and useful apps for iPhone coming up.

Some limitations in iPhone:
- Can’t forward the SMS.
- Can’t send phone numbers via SMS text message.
- When receiving phone numbers/contacts, e.g. VCARD, I can’t save them to contacts.
- No Text Selection, Copy, Cut and Paste.
- No Memory Card Support
- No Video Recording, No MMS

Conclusion:
iPhone is a great phone with a revolutionary multi touch interface. It has a tremendous WOW factor and sets you apart. But then that’s about it. When it comes to features and utility, N96 scores over iPhone. It may not draw crowds but it will definitely get the work done.

I can sum it up as follows:
iPhone is like a gorgeous girlfriend and N96 is like a faithful loving wife. Choice is yours to make.

Apple iPhone goes on sale in India from today (Aug 22, 2008) onwards by Airtel (link) and Vodafone (link).

Price in INR: 8GB iPhone: 31,000 and 16GB iPhone: 36,100.

This is definitely more expensive than the ‘no commitment’ 8GB iPhone sold by AT&T in US for $599, which is roughly Rs 25,000, which is a valid amount for the product we are getting. The only problem is the hype, media created and Apple created around the world by stating it as a $199 device. $199 is AT&T price and not Apple price. AT&T subsidizes the initial price of the phone so that anyone can afford it and then charge them with call and data rates which are higher than most of the world. Simple. I wonder how much would have Apple sold it for in their stores for an unlocked, free to use with any GSM operator, iPhone.

Anyways, price apart, its a great phone and has an amazing WOW factor for the first time your will use it.

One more thing. Whats the point of selling a 3G iPhone in India when our mobile networks are still 2G.  I have used a 2G iPhone and it is equally good to use as 3G iPhone. Earlier version has almost all the features the new 3G iPhone has. Apple could have launched the 2G phone at a much lesser price in India and other countries where we have 2G networks.

Apple as always make great products for people with good taste and good money. For rest of us there are very decent phones available from Nokia (on Symbian) and HTC (on Windows) which offer all the features (and much more) that are being offered by iPhone at a much reasonable price. The only thing missing is the taste or the WOW factor that iPhone has.

In the end I would say, don’t lose heart. Find someone going to US. Ask them to get a $199 iPhone (Thank you AT&T) and then get it unlocked and use it at will. This is similar to Windows XP or Vista. If you can pay, then pay, else there’s always a pirated version available if you can find it.  Apple is also learning the tricks of the trade from Microsoft. In long term the money you make depends more on how many people use it rather than how WOW your product is. Thats how Microsoft did it and that’s how Apple is now doing it. Apple doesn’t mind it so far as the bill ( subsidized price for the unlocked or pirated $199 iPhones) is getting footed by someone else (Read: AT&T and their subscribers!!).

As reported by Business Standard Apple iPhone will be launched in India on August 22nd by Airtel and Vodaphone both.

But all of you who may be thinking that it will be priced close to Rs.10000 (8GB iPhone cost $199 in US) may be in for a surprise. I believe that the handset will be priced much higher.

iPhone is subsidized in US and other countries by operators because their call rates are much higher. They charge rates like 25 cents a minute. In India, the charge is 1.5 to 2 cents a minute. They also earn via their expensive data plans on their 3G networks. It is assumed that the current price of $199 is the subsidized price with operators taking a hit of ~$300.

From AT&T page, the cheapest plan for iPhone users is at $69.99 pm (about Rs. 3000 pm). This is how they offset their initial hit of $300. I doubt any one in India will be willing to pay that price per month for mobile usage.

In India, call rates are one of the lowest in the world. So Vodafone and Airtel won’t be able to subsidize the price based on the call rates. 3G in India in AT LEAST a year away. GPRS is so pathetically slow, it is a real pain to browse internet using GPRS, so most of the customers won’t go for it either. I see no way, in which Airtel and Vodafone will be able to subsidize iPhone in India just based on call and data plans.

Infact, from the following At&T page (Link) “In the future, AT&T may offer a no-commitment option of $599 for 8GB and $699 for 16GB.”

That’s nearly equal to Rs. 25000.

So I assume that the price of iPhone in India will be close to :
Rs 24999 : With no commitment or contract for both prepaid and postpaid users.
Rs 19999 : With Rs. 499 per month commitment for 1 year for post paid users.
Rs 14999 : With Rs. 499 per month commitment for 2 years for post paid users. (may be only for long time users with good billing history).

One last question:
Can I get a $199 iPhone from US and get it unlocked and use in India ?